This invention relates to a method for processing a light-sensitive silver halide photographic material, particularly to a method for processing a light-sensitive silver halide photographic material with a remarkably reduced amount of color developer replenished.
Processing of a light-sensitive silver halide photographic material (hereinafter sometimes abbreviated merely as light-sensitive material) comprises basically color developing and desilverization steps, and the desilverization step comprises bleaching and fixing steps or one bath bleach-fixing step. If necessary, other processing steps, namely water washing, stopping processing, stabilizing processing, etc. may be added.
In color developing, the silver halide exposed is reduced to silver with a developing agent. At the same time, halide ions are dissolved out into the developer to be accumulated therein. Otherwise, organic compounds such as inhibitors or stabilizers, etc. added to the light-sensitive material are dissolved out into the developer to be accumulated therein.
On the other hand, the developing agent after reducing silver halide is consumed by the reaction with the coupler, or otherwise, there are also components brought out as held in the light-sensitive material, whereby the concentration in the developer is lowered. For this reason, in the developing processing method in which a large amount of silver halide light-sensitive materials are continuously processed by an automatic developing machine, for avoiding change in photographic performances due to the change in component concentration of the developer as mentioned above, replenishing with a replenishing solution is ordinarily performed in order to maintain the concentration at a constant range. However, by such replenishment, a large amount of overflowed solution is necessarily generated, which poses a great problem in economy as well as in pollution.
In recent years, reduction of the amount replenished of a color developer has been strongly demanded from the standpoints of energy saving, lowering in cost and lowering in pollution.
However, when the amount of the replenishing solution is merely reduced, there will ensue a great problem that the substances dissolved out from the light-sensitive material are accumulated at high concentrations. More specifically, substances dissolved out include halide ions which are developing inhibitors and various organic compounds, and increased concentrations of these will result in lowering of developing activity. Also, by accumulation at a high concentration of sensitizing dyes and coloration components such as dyes added for irradiation or halation prevention, the light-sensitive material is stained. This problem will lead to a serious problem of coloration of the white ground portion particularly in the light-sensitive material for print, whereby image quality is remarkably damaged.
As the means for solving such problems, improvements of developers have been attempted. For example, for the purpose of improving developing activity, pH or temperature of the developer is made higher, or for the purpose of reducing halide ions, there are the methods as described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Nos. 95345/1983, 232342/1984, 70552/1986, International Published Patent WO 87-04534, etc., but all of them have not attained sufficient effect, partly because of troubles caused such as accompaniment of increased fogging, deterioration of stability of developer, etc.
On the other hand, for the purpose of improving the above problems from the standpoint of light-sensitive material design, the effect by reduction of a hydrophilic binder contained in the light-sensitive material is expected. Practically, by reduction of a hydrophilic binder, a great effect in improvement of developing speed can be recognized to be exhibited, but with respect to improvement of white ground with a low replenishing solution, its effect cannot be said to be satisfactory, and further improvement is desirable.
In Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications Nos. 180939/-1982, 182611/1982, 183444/1982, techniques of white ground improvement with fluorescent brighteners are disclosed, and these are very effective means. However, as described in the above-mentioned patents, for these compounds to act effectively in small amounts, presence of a hydrophilic polymer such as polyvinyl pyrrolidone is required, but the hydrophilic polymer has little improvement effect of white ground in development processing with a low Replenished processing liquor in which coloration components are accumulated at high concentration, but rather there is a fear of bad influence therefrom, and in most cases use of such polymer may be preferably avoided. As a consequence, it becomes necessary to use a large amount of the above-mentioned brighteners. If these brighteners are used in large amounts, the desilverization step subsequent to the developing step tends to be badly affected thereby, and this tendency becomes more intensified in the case of processing with low level of replenished processing solution, whereby the improvement of this problem becomes necessary.